•We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine impact of extension services and Development Agents on adoption of new variety.•Improved extension services result in higher ...propensity to adopt the new improved variety.•Improved capacity of Development Agents exerts a positive and statistically significant impact on adoption of the new improved variety.•Wealthier households benefit from improved capacity of Development Agents and extension services.
Although many studies have shown that sub-Saharan African countries could increase agricultural productivity and output through better technologies and improved crop varieties, the adoption of yield-enhancing technologies by smallholder farmers in the region still remains very low. In this paper, we use a cluster randomized controlled trial to examine whether improved extension services influence smallholder farmers’ decisions to try a newly introduced improved wheat variety in Ethiopia. The experiment involved demonstration trials and field days, and improved capacity of Development Agents in facilitation and communication skills. The empirical results revealed that farmers’ decisions to try the newly introduced wheat variety were highest in the villages where demonstration trials and field days, and improvements in the Development Agents’ facilitation and communication capacity were introduced simultaneously. We also found a positive effect of improved extension services on yields, and the use of chemical fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides, but only the use of herbicides and pesticides were statistically significant. Our findings provide some insights into the significance of revisiting the curriculums of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and Farmers’ Training Centers.
This article investigates whether public investments that led to improvements in road quality and increased access to agricultural extension services led to faster consumption growth and lower rates ...of poverty in rural Ethiopia. Estimating an Instrumental Variables model using Generalized Methods of Moments and controlling for household fixed effects, we find evidence of positive impacts with meaningful magnitudes. Receiving at least one extension visit reduces headcount poverty by 9.8 percentage points and increases consumption growth by 7.1 percentage points. Access to all-weather roads reduces poverty by 6.9 percentage points and increases consumption growth by 16.3 percentage points. These results are robust to changes in model specification and estimation methods.
•A video-mediated extension approach introduced in Ethiopia increases technology uptake by improving extension access and farmer knowledge.•While the video-mediated extension approach improves ...extension access and knowledge among female spouses, it does not lead to higher uptake rates.•The video-mediated approach becomes less costly as the scale of operation increases.
Despite enthusiasm around applications of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to smallholder agriculture in many lower-income countries, there are still many questions on the effectiveness of ICT-based approaches. This study assesses the impacts of video-mediated agricultural extension service provision on farmers’ adoption of improved agricultural technologies and practices in Ethiopia using data from a two-year randomized experiment. Our results show that the video-mediated extension approach significantly increases uptake of recommended technologies and practices by improving extension access and farmer knowledge. Specifically, we find that video-mediated extension reaches a wider audience than the government’s conventional extension approach and leads to higher levels of farmer understanding and uptake of the subject technologies in those locations randomly assigned to the program. While our results also point to greater extension access and greater knowledge among female spouses in locations where both male and female spouses were targeted by the program, we do not find clear evidence that a more inclusive approach translates into higher uptake of the subject technologies. Finally, we find that the video-mediated approach becomes less costly as the scale of operation increases.
•Receipt of input subsidy and advice are correlated when modeled using panel data in Malawi.•Both advice and input subsidy should be modeled jointly in technology and productivity models.•Receipt of ...advice has consistently insignificant effect on crop productivity and food security.•Perceived usefulness of advice is strongly associated with productivity and food security.•A focus on useful content of advice can contribute to improving development outcomes.
This paper examines the interplay between Malawi’s input subsidy and access to extension services, and the impact of both on farm productivity and food security using Malawi’s Integrated Household Panel Survey. A correlated random effects (CRE) device is used, and consistency and robustness of results are checked using various other estimation models. The receipt of fertilizer and seed subsidies is shown to have an inconsistent impact on farm productivity and food security; at the same time, access to agricultural advice is consistently insignificant in explaining these. Further analysis, however, shows a statistically significant and strong association with farm productivity and food security when access to extension services is unpacked to include indicators of usefulness and farmers’ satisfaction. Households that reported receipt of “very useful” agricultural advice had greater productivity and greater food security compared to those that reported receipt of advice that they considered not useful and those that did not receive any advice at all. This result implies the need to ensure the provision of relevant and useful agricultural advice to increase the likelihood of achieving agricultural development outcomes.
Given the marked heterogeneous conditions in smallholder agriculture in Sub‐Saharan Africa, there is a growing policy interest in site‐specific extension advice and the use of digital extension tools ...to provide site‐specific information. Empirical ex‐ante studies on the design of digital extension tools and their use are rare. Using data from a choice experiment in Nigeria, we elicit and analyze the preferences of extension agents for major design features of ICT‐enabled decision support tools (DSTs) aimed at site‐specific nutrient management extension advice. We estimate different models, including mixed logit, latent class and attribute non‐attendance models. We find that extension agents are generally willing to use such DSTs and prefer a DST with a more user‐friendly interface that requires less time to generate results. We also find that preferences are heterogeneous: some extension agents care more about the effectiveness‐related features of DSTs, such as information accuracy and level of detail, while others prioritise practical features, such as tool platform, language and interface ease‐of‐use. Recognising and accommodating such preference differences may facilitate the adoption of DSTs by extension agents and thus enhance the scope for such tools to impact the agricultural production decisions of farmers.
Purpose
Vertical line extension is an attractive growth strategy that allows brands to address heterogeneous consumer needs and react to competitive pressure. The purpose of this paper is to ...systematically review and summarize vertical line extension research to derive general insights into vertical upward and downward line extension.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a systematic review of 536 academic articles and predefined inclusion criteria, this research identifies and evaluates all articles that add knowledge to the topic of vertical line extension (n = 64).
Findings
This research derives general insights in several vertical line extension-specific issues. Different forms of vertical line extension, conceptual differences between upward and downward extensions, as well as the role of perceived fit, extension degree and the parent brand are crucial for the study and evaluation of extension and parent brand feedback effects. Those effects are complex and often work in opposing directions not only for the parent brand but also for the extension. Future research needs to face that complexity as well as methodological issues and different research contexts to further advance the literature stream.
Originality/value
This paper provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review of vertical line extension research characteristics and results. It provides new insights on the characteristics and effects of vertical line extensions and guides future research on the topic.
We evaluate causal impacts of a large-scale agricultural extension program for smallholder women farmers on technology adoption and food security in Uganda through a regression discontinuity design ...that exploits an arbitrary distance-to-branch threshold for village program eligibility. We find eligible farmers used better basic cultivation methods, achieved improved food security. Given minimal changes in adoption of relatively expensive inputs, we attribute these gains to improved cultivation methods that require low upfront monetary investment. Farmers also modified their shock-coping methods. These results highlight the role of information and training in boosting agricultural productivity among poor farmers and, indirectly, improving food security.
Purpose: The article examines the implementation and effects of the model farmer-based approach of farmer-to-farmer extension delivery that is in use in Ethiopia.
Methodology: The study used mixed ...methods, combining focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a household survey.
Findings: The model farmer approach has increased extension coverage, improved the possibility for information and technology dissemination, and enabled the inclusion of virtually all farming households in extension and advisory networks. Simultaneously, the approach has become a mechanism for the top-down control of farmers, for the identification and favouritism of better-off farmers, and those with political commitments.
Practical implications: The findings show that there is a need to critically reflect on who model farmers are, how they are selected, what their historical and current roles and impact have been, as well as follower farmers' feedback on the approach in order to avoid perpetuating the misuse of the approach.
Theoretical implications: The article argues that the Ethiopian context that rewards rapid increase in production and productivity, modernisation of agriculture, competitive commercialisation, and a context that allows the continued entanglement of extension delivery with politics have enabled such misuse of the approach to proliferate. The article questions the extent of applicability of the core farmer-to-farmer extension principles that relate to social ties, reciprocity, collaboration, and minimal social hierarchies in such a context.
Originality/value: The study generates important insights about the effects of model farmer-based extension approach, its political dimensions, and the importance of context for successful farmer-to-farmer extension.
•Farmers had lowly participated in the extension services provided.•Receiving information on the diagnosis of pests and diseases has a priority by farmers.•The diversity of services was the ...lowest-ranked quality attribute observed by farmers.•Farmers’ participation in extension services significantly influences their satisfaction.
Assessing farmers’ satisfaction with the quality of agricultural-extension services is essential for developing extension programs that comply with farmers’ needs and agroecological conditions. This study aimed to determine factors influencing farmers’ satisfaction with extension services. Data were collected through a questionnaire from a random sample of 393 farmers in the Kafr El Sheikh governorate. Farmers assessed the quality of extension services by five main indicators: (1) availability, (2) accessibility, (3) diversity, (4) relevance, and (5) effectiveness. Descriptive statistics and a logistic-regression model were used to analyze the data. Results showed that farmers had lowly participated in the provided extension services. The accessibility of services was ranked first with regard to satisfaction, while diversity of services was the lowest-ranked quality attribute. Results also revealed that factors significantly influencing farmers’ satisfaction included farm size, diversity of farming activities, annual income, and participation in extension services. Results provide practical implications for policy makers to support smallholder farmers by providing high-quality extension programs.
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